She Only Steals Diamonds
by ohgodofwriting
Summary: Chapter 13. Story complete. Afterword to follow. :D PLAYLIST ADDED! Go to playlist . com /elizabethrosemiller to hear it. Without spaces.
1. Chapter 1

Thank you so much for getting this far! I very much hope that you will enjoy this story, and that it will do all for you that a good story should do. I do promise to do all that I can to make it a well-written piece, though I cannot promise it will be a crowd-pleaser. You see, it will have, as a said before, a bit of a twist to it, but I feel that as long as you just go along for the ride, you will very much enjoy it. I'm sure I did take some liberties, though I tried not to directly contradict the original Batman Beyond - this story is my creative take on the characters.

To Dana fans, _extra _props to you for getting this far! Though this is a Terry & Max fanfic, I respect your preference. Dana is quite lovely, and she _did _get to Terry first. I admit that I only prefer the Terry and Max romance because my best friend biased me towards it. So, that said, I encourage you to read anyway. I encourage you to - while still remaining loyal to the Dana of Batman Beyond - allow your view of her to become a little more flexible in this rendition... in _my _view of exactly what _really _happened.

* * *

The cool kids sat in the back of bus, feeling way too cool, and way too old, to be riding on a bus at all, and discussing it.

"I swear, if Matt has another slagging _'flu,_' I will personally make him incapable of having anther one." Growled a roguish, handsome looking young man as he glared out of the corner window.

The young lady next to him made his attitude seem like a pathetic temper-tantrum. She wore an easy smirk, and spoke in an unaffected, dry voice. She was distinguished, calm, and far more dangerous seeming than the boy. "And how are you going to do that, McGinnis?" She giggled a bit, knowing she would be complaining just as much if Terry wasn't.

"_Kill _him," he whispered, trying to sound sinister. He turned his head slowly toward his companion, his black hair hanging down into his blue eyes. When he saw the hidden smile on the girl's full lips, his own twitched into one as well. He laughed openly, shifting his position and fiddling with his homework card. He seemed an easy-going youth, artless and friendly, having those easy characteristics that make one likeable and looked-up to.

The girl beside him, however, was a nerd no one could spot unless she _chose _to let them in on it. She was elegant and edgy, with her shortly-cropped pink hair and Audrey-Hepburn-simple style. Her dress was classic, composed of narrow cropped black pants, black flats, and a snug, tan, sleeveless tank. She was popular for the very reasons that her best friend was _not_. You cared about what she _thought_ about you, with Terry, you already knew.

"Max, I know you're perfect, but could you please, just get frustrated, _once_?" Half-joked Terry, pushing a large hand through his angular hair cut.

"Oh, Terry, I've _been _frustrated. For example, if your _mom _hadn't had to take little-miss-faker to the _doctor, _I would have gotten a ride to school today, as usual."

Terry laughed. "Little-miss-faker, that's good," he repeated, rather like a dork.

Max rolled her eyes, feeling the strain of being at a higher level of intelligence than those of whom she was in company with. "_And _if you would just buy your own car and stop driving your mom's tank around…which, by the way, is _ancient_, and _huge…"_

"Hey, wait a minute, now! So what, I don't have a car. You are a whole year older than me and you need _rides _all the time—"

Max's dark brown eyes shot up suddenly. Terry, ever in-tune with her emotions, ceased talking and followed her eyes to look around the crowded, rather less than updated bus. Those other passengers who did not have such engaging company as they shared, nor such great chemistry, naturally fell to watching the entertaining show. When confronted with the couples' eyes, however, they mildly went back to sifting through their cell phone databases.

"Well I'm sorry, you have a job that pays you, like, a million dollars, and I _don't,_" Max hissed back when she had gone back to tapping around the internet on her hand held. "Oh, and I have to pay _rent._"

"That's okay, though. It's not like you have any other friends than me, so you have plenty of time to work, at least." They both fell to chuckling.

"Hey, Dana…" Terry alerted Max, pointing out the window.

"What?" Max leaned over Terry and peered at the line-up of kids preparing to board. Not too out-of-place was fifteen year old Dana, standing the row, clutching her bag to her chest and looking down. Her black hair blew around her, and she looked sort of sad. Always ironically dressed, she wore a miniskirt and furry boots. Her fur-trimmed purse, of course, matched.

"She must have decided not to have her dad take her when I told her I was taking the bus," Terry said, almost apologetic.

Max tried not to sigh and just gave Terry what she meant to be a careless smile. "Well, fun's over, now," she said, teasing. Max got up with her bag slung over her shoulder and moved awkwardly up to a row that was, blessedly, absent.

When Dana entered, she gave Terry a brief wave and then sat down by Max, a huge smile on her face.

"Mornin', Max, how are you?"

Max tried not to zone out at Dana's dark, glossy lipstick shade. "Great, how are you?"

"Oh, just _great_. I mean, a little bummed that all I saw of Terry was a phone-cam conversation at 2:00 in the morning last night, or this morning, or…whatever."

"So, you takin' the bus now?" Max said, not really hearing the friend whom she didn't come close to connecting with.

Apparently, Dana felt the same way about Max, and kept rambling. "Yeah, oh my gosh, those late night conversations are just _killin' _my complexion. My eyes are watering so much, my eyeliner won't stay put!" She flipped open her make-up compact and began applying with one hand, eyeing herself through a mirror in the other.

Max watched, feeling rather strange and expressionless as the pretty girl applied heavy eyeliner, accentuating her slanted eyes.

Terry, too far behind to hear, desperately wished he had his suit on. He touched his fingertips to the seat in front of him, but he stopped himself as he was reaching out, embarrassed. _"Man I wear that thing too much. Maybe Dana is right that my job is taking over my life. I can hardly function as a normal kid anymore."_

"_They look like cat eyes," _thought Max as she watched Dana continue.

"I mean, who cares how big _Wayne Enterprises _is? I think he should quit. I mean, who wants to work that much? No girl would put up with what I put up with."

"Yeah, well, sure, I think he should do what he wants," Max murmured, trying to appear busy with her phone.

"How can he possibly _want _to work? It's not like he _does _anything with the money, takes me out or anything…"

"Well, if he enjoys it," Max felt herself beginning to get a little defensive, but cloaked it, as always, by pretending to comfort Dana.

"I have a theory. I think he's afraid of the future and wants to save up money or something. I don't know. I think he's just being selfish."

"So why are you still going out with him?" Max shocked herself when the words slipped out.

Thankfully, Dana wasn't easy to offend, and hardly noticed. "Oh, I don't know, all relationships have problems. Terry is a lot more, like, apologetic than most guys…that's a good thing."

"Yeah, Terry's a nice guy," Max said, trying to sound casual. Dana and Terry had begun dating after Terry asked her to go to a dance with him, and she sorta' just never stopped calling, after that. That was at the beginning of high school, when they all met. Max and Terry had hit it off right away, but Max had always tended to hang out more with guys, so it didn't seem like a big deal to either of them. Things changed a little bit in high school, when Max clicked so well with Chelsea, and Dana basically attached herself unbidden to Max.

"Well, I better go say hi to him. How do I look?" Max looked in surprise at Dana. Why would someone who looked like that ever need to ask? "You look…perfect," she answered, telling the honest truth.

Dana was gone and Max forced herself not to glance back at them, though she could hear Dana cooing to Terry in the backseat.

Max was relieved when she finally got off the bus, and hurried to find her best friend, Chelsea. Terry would have loved to follow, but Dana clung to him as well as did Blade when they stepped off the bus. But for some reason, Terry still hadn't learned to say no. Perhaps Max's independence wasn't encouraging enough for him. Perhaps, somehow, he didn't think he ought to be in a relationship with anybody. Perhaps, it was just that Dana was so _available._ But maybe that's how she lost some of her appeal, too. Perhaps it's a little strange and almost even pathetic that Batman couldn't assert himself, but in fairness, it must be said that all he wanted was for once, for something in his life not to be a fight.


	2. Chapter 2

Computer tech was the only class they all had together. Thankfully, due to Dana's younger age, Max didn't have to endure her in any class but this one. Chelsea was in almost all of her classes, and Terry was in a little less than half of them. In the ones where the three of them were together, they were inseparable (besides when the teachers separated them). Terry tended to be the one always getting blamed for the group's rowdiness, even though it was Chelsea who was usually causing all of the trouble. Maxine could have found life endurable just from the fun they had during classes together.

Oh, the pranks they pulled! Terry admired Max's daring and skill for a prank, sometimes even joking that she might make a good batgirl. Without Chelsea's ingenuity, they would have had no pranks to carry out. But they didn't just pull pranks on the school and teachers. Chelsea and Max still laughed about the time, two years ago, when they had created a secret admirer for Terry. Dana had been so pissed off about it that they had never even admitted to her that it was them. Terry had been surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly) very interested to find out who it was. He was even a little mad when they revealed that they had been pulling his leg. Though if it was because he wanted out of his relationship with Dana, they never knew. All Max knew was that she had never been more honest with Terry that she had been when helping Chelsea write those "fake" love notes. And she never felt less able to be honest than during this hour of the day.

Terry was sitting dutifully by Dana, ignoring her under the guise of "doing work." She was blaring pop music and busily IMing Max, who sat across the room, next to Chelsea. Chelsea was listening to ear buds and designing some schway graphic. When the first ten minutes of class was passed by trying to send hints to Dana that she didn't want to talk, and Dana wasn't catching on, Max finally went the way of Terry.

"Yeah, lol, girl. Hey, I can't talk right now. I should probably finish up this dumb test," she typed, trying to ignore the blur of Terry that she could see over the top of her computer.

"OMG what test!? You KNOW you're supposed to tell me!!" The reply was very quick.

"Lesson 13."

"Oh! Girl, why R U so ahead in this class? You don't have to be on that lssn yet."

Max paused and was grateful that Dana's scrutinizing, sharp eyes couldn't see the blush under her dark cheeks. "Oh, I just want to get it over with. Talk to you after class. g2g."

A boy in the room raised his hand and waited until the pacing, slightly stinky teacher noticed and called on him. "Uhh, I don't mean to be lame, but, it's, uh, really hard to concentrate with that music…"

"Oh. Of course, I hadn't realized….Miss Tan, would you kindly regulate your music to headphones only?"

When she had turned off the music and the teacher turned away, Dana leaned and whispered into Terry's headphone-cloaked ears, "Oh my gosh, can you _believe _that guy?"

"Well, it was pretty loud, Dana," Terry mumbled.

Max was trying not to eavesdrop, or watch them. She hated seeing them interact in any way, ever. She felt nauseous. But Chelsea was looking at her and grinning, and she had to smile back, as if she found it funny, too.

"Oh my gosh," was all she said, and she turned away, sulking.

What happened next was pretty much what always happened. Dana pouted, Terry ignored her. Dana began to jab at Terry with statements like "Do you even care about me anymore?" Until he finally began to respond that, of course he did, and that she just shouldn't be so sensitive. During this rather bewildering "argument," Dana would suddenly become very hopeful and sweet, and put words in Terry's mouth.

"So you _DO _love me, then? You really do? You weren't just saying that? Oh babe, I know you're under so much pressure, it's just that you've got to start to show it more. Oh Terry, I love you," and she would start giggling, and kissing him, and to watch him respond almost against his will like a dead thing was more painful to Max than if she had never known him. Seeing him lie, and be weak, and be run over, and misunderstood, all to avoid a little confrontation…

Max set her jaw, looking away in disgust as Dana's hair fell from behind her ear, hiding both her and her boyfriend's face. The key word was "almost." It was _almost _against Terry's will to be with Dana. But not totally. It was _almost _against his will to kiss her (you could see it in his reluctance) but still, he did it. He had kissed her, too many times to count, right there in front of Max, and Max was just starting to feel like one day she would turn so rotten inside from it that she wouldn't even be able to enjoy Terry's friendship when Dana _wasn't_ around. Was that her plan? Was she trying to sicken Max out of being a threat?

Dana wasn't a bad kid, she was just a terrible nuisance. And as unfair as Max knew it was, she hated her. She hated seeing her with the man she loved. She hated hearing her talk about her as if Terry belonged to her. It hadn't started out this way. In the beginning, Max hadn't particularly liked Dana, but she certainly hadn't hated her. But now, she wondered if she was starting to see through her friendliness through to the _real _Dana…

But no. Terry was more at fault than anyone here. He could make decisions with his own life, and Max would die before she would reveal her feelings to a man who wouldn't make up his own mind, who couldn't defend himself, who wouldn't pursue her. And how was that even his fault? For all Max knew, maybe he was in love with Dana. She certainly didn't talk to Terry much about it. Maybe all relationships did look like this…Max had certainly never had a successful one. And with her parents…what did she know? Who was she to judge? How could Max know who Dana really was, when she viewed her with such a prejudice?

* * *

It was the next day and Dana was standing outside of school with Blade, watching Terry and Max drive off together.

"I don't know, girl," Blade was saying. "I think that's shady. I wouldn't let _my _boyfriend give some girl rides without me!"

"Well I've _tried _to get him to give me rides, but he always makes up some excuse!"

"What excuse?" Blade paused, trying to hold her hair from getting blown about by the gusty wind.

"Oh, what does it matter! He's always making excuses! Excuses why he and Max need to go off together, _alone._ For all I know he doesn't even _have _a job. Maybe that's an excuse, too! I've certainly never seen a penny of it," Dana moaned, near tears.

"Girl, he is _so _cheating on you."

"I hate Maxine Gibson more than I ever thought I could hate anyone," she whispered, her voice a low, predatory growl.

Blade jumped. "But you can't let her _know _that!"

"I'm going to _kill _her!"

"Oh, whatev. She's not worth it. Let her and your skeezy boyfriend go."

"Don't call Terry that!" Dana shouted. Blade was surprised to see her friend like this.

"Well…um…what's so special about him?"

"Oh, I don't know – I just love him. He's my first boyfriend. And he can be so sweet…and he's so good-looking. Plus his job; I want a stable guy…"

"Okay….so what do you want to do?"

"Keep him, and get rid of her."

"Dana, uh, don't mean to, like, point out the obvious – but you can't keep him! He's a cheater! And 'Gotham Girl' mag says that you can't change a cheater, a guy that has cheated before will—"

"Blade, I don't think you know what I'm capable of when I want something."

* * *

When Terry pulled into the parking lot of Max's job, they were both laughing so hard their sides were hurting.

"Ugh, I hate this job," Max said, glaring at the huge sliding doors of the supermarket.

"Yeah, well, too bad everyone can't be a hero like me," Terry joked, his eyes looking dark as midnight on the shadowy, overcast day.

Max tried not to stare at his face too long, fearing what would happen if she did. "Yeah, whatever. I'm saving the world, one customer at a time. Not to mention, it keeps me off the streets."

"The streets would only improve with a girl like you on them." His voice deepened to match his eyes, the joking being sucked out by the meaning he wasn't able to hide.

Max reached for the door handle, feeling a little angry. "K, see ya' tomorrow, Ter."

Terry grinning, relaxing when she hadn't noticed. "I'll make sure you get home safe, as usual."

While Max walked up to the doors, pinning on her name tag to a very unattractive polo shirt, she couldn't have felt less worthy of Terry. She hid it behind anger.

"_He thinks I can't take care of myself. He thinks it's cute…me working at the _supermarket. _He thinks it's all I'll ever do. He thinks no one in his life is his equal, and _that's _why he settles for Dana. I can't believe he doesn't think I'm better than her…" _

Terry knew he needed to get over to Bruce's, but he lingered in the parking lot a little too long. School had been so draining…couldn't a kid get any rest? For a moment, he let himself have some extremely unrealistic daydreams about Max. No more fighting. Just a powerful, independent woman who didn't sap all his strength out of him by babying him to death. He let himself think for a moment about kissing her, knowing he shouldn't. The guilt and excitement made him flush and roughly throw the minivan into gear and peel off towards Bruce's. Dana was a great girl, definitely the kind he could build a normal future with. And she really loved him. He couldn't break her heart. She put up with his lifestyle; who else would? Definitely not Max, anyway. They were fine as friends, but romance with Max was extremely unrealistic. He doubted _anyone _could impress her.

…At least at the job, he could do something right.


	3. Chapter 3

As you can see, there has been a title change. We needed more secrecy until now. Please enjoy. And stay flexible. :)

* * *

Dana halted before the tall building where her father had dropped her off. Nervously, her fingers clutched her furry purse. This was the first time she had defied Terry. As she strode up toward the big doors, she found that it was…exhilarating.

"Excuse me, is Terry McGinnis in?" Dana demanded, striking her fingers against the marble countertop of the huge, first-floor lobby.

The receptionist looked in surprise at the young girl. "Hmm, let me see." She consulted the computer. "Well his office is number 327. Would you like me to call him for you?"

"Yes please," Dana responded, straightening her fake diamond ring on her forefinger, a bit wishfully.

The woman was quiet for a moment, pressing her earpiece into her ear. Then she smiled and looked up. "Nope, I'm sorry, he's not answering."

"Alright, thank you." As Dana began to walk away, she looked back over her shoulder. The receptionist was not looking her way. Dana nearly ran to the elevator and slipped in. The elevator was full of people who paid no attention to her. She secretly praised her stealth.

Floor three came quickly, and she walked down the long, plush hallways until she found the room. The door was locked. He probably wasn't in. Still, she had to know what was inside…

The lock was composed of a fingerprinter and an eye scan. Dana stood there for a few minutes, thinking. When people passed, she pretended to be fixing her dark, elongated eyes. When inspiration struck, she whipped out her phone and found a photo of Terry, zooming in to his ice-blue eyes. She was glad her dad had bought her the latest technology. No more of that, though, she thought, mournfully. Her dad had told her that her shopping was getting out of hand and that he was cutting her off. Damn. Well at least she got the phone before he said that. While holding this up to the eye scan, she carefully placed her tictac container over the finerprinter. Terry was always borrowing that thing. It took several times to position the breath mints correctly.

Her heart was pounding when she opened the door.

* * *

When Dana left her personal trainer's that evening, Blade was waiting for her on her couch.

"You called?"

"Yeah….I have something important to tell you."

"Oh my God, what? Is it about Terry? Did you do what you said you were going to?"

"Yes."

Dana sat down across from Blade on the footstool, knees touching.

"I found out his secret."


	4. Chapter 4

The building lacked security. Not a car was parked, not a camera clung to the peeling, white-washed brick exterior. It was bare, vulnerable, _perfect_.

The back door was old and metal, void of a sophisticated lock of any kind. With a quick twitch of her nail file, it was opened. Now she stood in the storage room. A solitary, dim bulb swung from the dingy, sagging ceiling. Her stealth prevented her from toppling any of the many boxes scattering the floor. The slanted cat-eyes scanned each crate with precision, her fingers twitching with anticipation. She was looking for one thing, and one thing alone.

The black, glossy lips curled into the slightest of smiles at the word "DIAMONDS" etched into the side of a hefty crate. Readying the box-cutter tucked into the fur-lined boots, she flicked it open and proceeded forward. With a slice, the top was removed. The narrow eyes dazzled at the sight. At least fifteen finely cut rocks, glittering in the light. Though she did not count on any extra security measures in the building, she was still thinking about how much she did not want to play games with the police. She reached inside.

All were safely tucked in the pouch on her belt. She closed the furry compartment slowly, then readied her escape. At the door, she prepared to leave the same way she had entered, but she heard a thud above her. She looked up. The owner was awake. Now she moved quickly out the door, to make her getaway before the police could be summoned. Perhaps she hadn't been noticed at all. She stepped cautiously into the night. The alley was empty. No sooner had she closed the door behind her did a loud whistling erupt from the building. The alarm.

Cursing, she hugged the exterior wall, hidden in the falling shadows. She would run after waiting a few seconds, making sure no one was around.

A footfall from the right. Yards down the alley, yet too close for comfort. She snapped her head to look, midnight black hair swinging. First a tall, menacing shadow. Then, an out of breath, husky policeman. She touched the blade on her belt.

He brandished a flashlight, clumsily speaking into the communicator on his shoulder at the same time. His movements were ineffective, she would take him down easily. She waited. She couldn't burst into a run, not now that he was in her line of vision. She would strike when he reached the door, for he would surely spot her within a few feet, despite the shadows. She watched, silently, thumb tracing the blade's edge. Her eyes found his gun. She would attack before he could get off a single shot.

Holding her breath, her muscles twitched as he approached. The flashlight's beam kissed her silhouette; she held perfectly still…until, it touched her.

"Hands up!"

He didn't react as quickly as a cop should. She had time to dive before the gun was grasped. Rolling on the ground, she reached his ankles and wrapped her legs around him. In one swift flip, he was on the ground. The cop groaned in pain. He was _supposed_ to be unconscious. Wasting no time, she shot to her feet, preparing to knock him out with a kick to his head. But he recovered quickly. Knowing he would utilize the gun before anything else, she hastily seized his right arm. The plan was to swing him over her shoulder, but he saw it coming. The cop constricted her in a choke hold with his elbow. She clawed at his arm, but only for a moment. Her elbow slammed beyond the bullet-proof vest into his blubbery gut. Releasing her, he doubled over.

Running still wasn't an option. He was awake, and his gun would kill her. She couldn't outrun a bullet.

She kicked, aiming for his head. He dodged. She cursed. He was more in shape than he should be. Now, the cop took the offensive, lunging toward her. On the ground, they struggled for a quick minute. She was agile and flexible, and easily succeeded to slip out of his grasp.

Now on her feet, and with the cop still on the ground, her booted foot pounded his head. He yelled in pain. She kicked again. Groggily, he rolled over, fumbling for his communicator.

Barely conscious, he rasped for help. Seeing that he couldn't access the gun nor properly utilize it, she bolted before backup could arrive. Racing through the twisting alleys, she touched the fur-lined compartment.

Still there.


	5. Chapter 5

"What's the secret!? What did you find out about Terry!?" Blade demanded, at the age of her seat.

"He's…he's…unemployed!" Dana burst into tears. Blade could barely make out through her blubbering this next paragraph:

"I know it's…it's…._unbelievable _but I went to his 'office' and I broke in and – HE WASN'T THERE – and…and…not only that, but…" Here sobbing reigned for a few minutes before she could continue, "He had _never been there_! The office was completely deserted! No sign of him…at…at…all. And he told me he –" sob "had pictures –" sob "of MEEEEEeeeEEEEE…"

Blade's eyes were very round. "So…?"

"This proves that he IS cheating on me!" Dana's face was buried in her hands and so extra challenges were added to her being heard. "The job was a cover, so he could spend more time with Max," she spat out the name like a curse word. (Much the same way as Max thought of Dana's name.)

"What I don't understand is, why didn't he just dump you?" Blade said, not unsympathetically.

"DUMP MEEEE!?" She fell down, wailing.

Blade glowering. "You are _Dana Tan. _Pull yourself together."

Dana sat up, hair very messy, cat-like eyes red, puffy, and watery. "I can't lose him. I am declaring war on Maxine Gibson."

What Dana didn't know was that Max had already declared war on Dana. Dana and Blade tried calling Max that night, to threaten and interrogate her. She didn't pick up, and they assumed she was fearfully ignoring them. But the real truth was that she was…busy, and had left her cell phone at home. Not, as they would expect, out cheating with Terry, but, in her own way, declaring war on Dana Tan.

After attempting to call Max (many, many times) and failing, they called Chelsea. She picked up. Dana almost began sobbing right away, so Blade took over.

"Look, I _know _that you're Max's best friend and that you know everything she's up to. So why don't you just admit that Terry has been cheating on Max."

"Wha…what?"

"All we want to know is for how long."

"_Excuse _me?"

"Oh yeah, play your little games, Chelsea."

"You girls need to get a life."

"We have one! But your best friend is screwing it up."

Chelsea took a very deep breath. "Okay," she began patiently. "Max is not having a romance with Terry. She would not _be with _an unavailable guy. She's better than that, okay? And if she was having a romance with him, why do you think _I _would know? We are independent people. If she _was _cheating with him, I certainly wouldn't tell _you. _And finally, even if she was, there is nothing either of you can do about it. Do you understand?"

Blade hung up in a huff.

"Well?" Dana cried out in desperation.

"Well what? Chelsea was just being…Chelsea." She sighed, aggravated. Apparently they had run into this distasteful problem before.

* * *

It was Saturday and Max and Terry were training together in the batcave. They had done this together for some time, and though Terry would never admit it, Max was almost as good as him. But that was when he wasn't wearing the batsuit. Wearing it, she wouldn't be able to kick his butt like she was now doing in the simulation room. Designed by Bruce, for keeping Terry on his toes. Bruce had mentioned to Terry the new, never-before-seen menace that had cropped up in Gotham the last week. However, Terry had been too busy to meet her in hand-to-hand combat, and Terry hadn't thought of her as a real threat. She was stealing small amounts, and she hadn't hurt anyone yet. He had been sure that the cops would get her. But now, after she had evaded them for a week, he was beginning to realize he would probably have to meet her soon.

"So, how's Batting been going?" Max somehow managed to ask, casually, even though she was out of breath.

"Oh, great," Terry responded, equally nonchalantly as he ducked a punch and a kick.

Max jumped and flipped, escaping Terry's attempted trip. Once she had landed and wiped her short, pink hair from her eyes, she continued. "Oh yeah? Catchin' all the bad guys?"

Terry looked thoughtful, and Max used that opportunity to jab him swiftly in the stomach and the side of the head. "Yeah," he responded, absently, as he hopped away to gain more time before the next move.

She would have rushed forward, but she was thinking about something. "Really? Terry McGinnis is finally undefeated?"

This was too irresistible, and Terry grinned. "It's all that training we've been doing," came his modest, and flattering, reply.

Max smiled widely. She came forward fast and gripped the back of his neck with both hands, putting their heads forehead to forehead. Then, her right foot ripped his out from under him, and she slammed him into the ground. She placed the point of her elbow in his gullet and held his neck down with her leg.

"No pinching! No pinching! Noooo," and she released the hold as Terry pinched her knee. "NOT THE KNEECAP! Damn you, Terry. That's not fair!"

"Yeah well," Terry argued, gasping for air. He pushed his palm up through a chunk of sweaty hair. "No fair comin' at me like that."

"Oh, what does the poor baby want? A warning?" She grumbled back, nursing her rising bruise.

"It would be nice," Terry watched her, savoring the moment when she wasn't looking, and a smile grew on his face.

He hadn't told Max about the cat woman because she seemed to get a little tense when he told her about female bad guys, and he hadn't wanted to spoil the moment.

* * *

"Terry, you and Max hang out too much." Terry had answered the phone during a water break.

"Dana, I do not."

"Where are you right now, Terrence?"

Terry rolled his eyes. He hated when she called him that. "At. Work."

"Uh-huh. On a Saturday."

"Yes! My boss called me in! He does that all the time."

Max walked out of the simulator room and stood staring at Terry's back.

"Terry! I know you're cheating on me with Max!"  
"I am _not _cheating on you with Max, Dana! You need to trust me more!"

Max scowled. "_As if I'd go out with a guy who wasn't man enough to pick me if he liked me."_

"I'm sorry, Terry, I'm sorry, I know I need to trust you more – it's just that you're with her all the time!"

"No, no, no, Baby. Not all the time." Terry was gripping the phone tightly; his muscles were hunched and tense under his baggy t-shirt.

"Then let's go out tonight."

"Oh, Dana…not tonight…I can't…I have plans with Max! Mom invited her over for dinner."

"ARRRRGGG!" Dana shrieked, and even Max could hear it from where she stood. "Even your MOM likes her better than me! When is the last time she has ever had me over for dinner, Terry! Huh? WHY DOES SHE HATE ME!"

"She doesn't hate you, and neither does Max, by the way, if that's what you think."

_"Yeah, right," _thought Max. _"I don't hate her rotten guts. I just have to think about her kissing you all the time…her with her cheesy, crappy fashion sense and over makeup-ed face. I don't think all the time about every little thing she does that annoys me…Her obsession with fake jewelry and you earning money…how stupid and vain and yet cunning she is…I don't think about anything like that. I'm totally fine with you and her."_

"Then invite me over for dinner, too."

"NO! Dana, you're being ridiculous."

"WHAT!! I AM BEING RIDICULOUS! TERRENCE MGINNIS IF YOU DON'T TAKE THAT BACK –"

"Fine, I take it back. Sorry."

"Show me you're sorry."

"Uh, let's go out for dinner tomorrow night."

"Really? You MEAN it??"

"Uh yeah, sure."

"You're not going to go into work?"

"N-no, not unless he really needs me."

_"Terry!"_

"Okay, no. I'll be there. I promise. Seven. K? Yep. Love you, too."

Max stepped back into the room, hastily. Seven o' clock Sunday night.

* * *

Unfortunately, Max saw Dana the next morning. Dana came in during Max's usual shift.

"Max? Girl? Oh, I totally _forgot _that you worked here!" She tossed down on the checkout counter a pink, furry collar with big, gaudy, fake jewels on it.

Max stared at it. "Woah…"

"Oh, a new collar for Princess. What do you think?"

Max looked up slowly, staring long into Dana's face. She almost laughed aloud at her own brilliancy, the beautiful mockery of Dana Tan she had already played, and would continue to play. And she was even more glad than usual that she had unlimited access to the large storage room of the super grocery store. "Dana, it's great. It's really, really great."

Dana almost bubbled. "Really? Do you think so!?"

Max hurriedly scanned her items, eager to get rid of her so that she could have a good laugh.

"Um, Max, I just wanted to tell you something. You mean so much to me, and, and, I feel like I can, like, trust you, ya' know?"

"Wow, thanks," she responded, far from touched. And then, elated from her acts of rebellion and feeling freer than she ever had, added, "Did you rehearse that all the way here?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Another customer came in line and they both fell silent.

"Have fun on your date with Terry tonight." Max grinned, feeling rather like the ever-foreboding Cheshire.


	6. Chapter 6

Dana, with high hopes, wore a sparkling floor-length dress on her date with Terry Sunday night. Even her dark eyeliner sparkled to match. Terry, with the optimistic goal of just making it through the day, obediently wore Dana's favorite suit. They were dining at Dana's favorite restaurant, and though they were out of place by being over-dressed and too young, Dana wouldn't have noticed in a million years.

It seemed like years before the food came, and he tried to look at anything except her, which was hard to keep up for very long. It was Sunday night, and already they had hung out for a few hours too many. Dana had called that morning and begun demanding that they see each other sooner than that night. Terry eventually gave in and she came over in the late afternoon, and they spent some awkward (but highly amusing) hours in the McGinnis home where his mother tried not to mention Max too often and scrambled for things to say, and Matt offended, annoyed, and disgusted Dana in every way he could think of.

Shockingly, Dana's spirits never seemed to dampen. She hung on to Terry's arm and gushed and gushed, rarely looking him in the eye. Even now, she seemed absolutely no closer to having a real conversation with Terry than she had ever been. She kept jabbering on, fearfully filling in the silences with things that couldn't have interested even the most enamored man. Things finally started looking up upon the arrival of their food. Dana was silent for awhile, feeling that Terry would be occupied with his food, and wouldn't need to be entertained.

"Terry, thanks for taking me out tonight."

Terry looked up from his very sloppy pasta and smiled hesitatingly. "Yeah, no problem."

But that was as far as their progress went for in that very moment, Terry's cell phone vibrated in his blazer pocket. One glance at the screen confirmed his worst fear. "Bruce Wayne." He clicked ignore on the first call, and the second, but on the third, he knew he could push Bruce no further.

Terry quickly slipped it out. He had warned Bruce of preferring some time off tonight. Well, Bruce had no regard for his personal life. Still, Bruce never called Terry about anything unimportant.

"Uh, I have to take this call."

"Who is it, Terry?" Dana nearly shrieked.

"Not Max," Terry snapped. "It's my boss."

"No, Terry. _No."_

"Dana I _have _to take this call, I'm really sorry."

"Terrence if you take this call I will be very. Angry."

Terry was already half-standing and was beginning to grow concerned at the scene Dana was about to make. "Dana, I'll just answer it, and explain that I'm busy."

But she wasn't placated. "Terrence, whenever you answer the phone he always makes you go into work. Please do not."

"I have to."

"You _promised."_

Terry sighed and stood. "I –" He paused and swore when he realized he had missed the call. "I'll be right back," he finished sternly, and walked out through the front doors. He called Bruce back.

"What was that about?" Bruce demanded.

"I'm sorry," Terry apologized, coldly.

"There's going to be some action on 9th Street…a jewelry robbery. That small-time jewelry thief is going bigger, and apparently, she wants to meet you. _She _sent in the warning to us. I'm sending the car to you in the alley off Beddington Street."

"C'mon, I'm on a date with my girlfriend. Can't you call the cops?"

Bruce pointedly ignored the girlfriend remark. "The police haven't been able to stop her when they've met her. And she wants to meet _you, _so we can all save some time and trouble by cutting to the chase right away.

"Bruce, some other night?"

"Get rid of Dana." And the line clicked off. Before Terry headed back inside, he flipped his phone and located Beddington Street from his current location. Right around the corner, as usual. He walked back into the restaurant, his insides already hurting from the confrontation that was about to happen. He sat across from Dana again. The stormy look on her face predicted that she knew what he was about to say.

"Dana, I've got to go into work. My boss really needs me. I'm so sorry."

"I knew this would happen." Her eyes welled with tears.

"I'll make it up to you," Terry whispered, wincing at the sight of her hurt.

She nodded sharply and didn't reply. Terry pulled out his wallet and threw some creds on the table. "Here's for the bill, and for a cab. Sorry I can't see you home."

She stared at the table with watery eyes as he made his predictable exit.

* * *

"So what do we know about this _'Cat Woman'_?" Terry asked as he flew in the car towards 9th Street. He was in his suit and speaking through the telecommunicator to Bruce.

"Her first robbery was about two weeks ago. She's been catching small fish, but she does seem like she may have the makings of a real criminal. Possibly not just your average dress-up-on-a-whim robber."

"What makes you say that?" Terry, who usually trusted Bruce's judgment, was feeling a little difficult tonight.

"I've watched the security tapes of her, had a few of my researchers speak to the police that encountered her. She's sophisticated. She seems to have a bit of knowledge from somewhere," Bruce chuckled dryly. "But she hasn't used any weapons yet, or seriously injured anyone, so now is the best time to interfere. It's always best when you catch them in the beginning."

"Great," Terry said aloud, and his tone of voice translated what he was really thinking. _"I'm so glad I'm making Dana pissed at me so that I can give some girl a therapy session."_

She was standing there waiting for him when he arrived. She stood on the flat roof of the chosen jewelry store, looking rather unafraid. Terry pulled up a few feet over the roof and dropped out. He stood for a moment, taking in his new enemy. He could make nothing of her. Her outfit was simple, but not ridiculously home-made. He could not tell whether its sleek black lines hid any elite technology, though he doubted that it did. Cat ears sat atop her head, and long black hair hung free.

They stared at each other, not moving, for some time. Terry began to feel more at ease. She was not so unlike him, really. They were both strangely masked and…eared. But for someone so new to crime, she seemed alarmingly confident around him.

"You warned me of your intentions. Why?" Terry's deep, altered voice cut through the silence.

Catwoman smiled. "That's the first thing you're going to say to a pretty lady?"

Terry glared. "Who are you, and why are you doing this?"

"For someone who _also _wears a mask, you don't seem very up on reasons for doing so," she laughed gaily.

"Well –" Terry pushed on lamely, feeling already like he was losing "-if you're going to steal, I'm going to stop you." He couldn't believe how much like a highschooler he sounded.

She began walking towards him. "I'm counting on it."

Terry stood his ground as she approached, remaining alert and keeping himself ready.

"There's really only one question I have for you, Batman," she said, her voice close to his ear.

His blood rose and he didn't answer.

"Why don't you do what you wanna' do?" She slowly lifted her hand and touched his mask.

Terry fiercely grabbed her wrist and held her away from him. "Go home, Missy, or deal with me."

She slowly shook her head and tsked him, amused. "Not very mannerly, are we?"

"I don't consort with criminals!" Again, lame.

"Then let go of my hand." The smile curling on the lips of her mask felt like a kick in Terry's gut.

He shoved her away and then released her arm. "You need to understand something. My job is to protect the city. And I take that job _very seriously._" His own words convicted him, as his (mostly unspoken) conversation with Bruce flashed through his mind.

"Oh, what's the harm of a little healthy stealing?" She seemed just as graceful as ever, even as Terry pushed her.

"It's a _crime._"

"What those selfish pigs _charge _for that stuff is the crime. They are just a bunch of worthless rocks." Never, at any point, did excited emotion enter her voice. Her speech was always cool and level, a little sarcastic and smooth.

"Then why are you stealing them?" Terry tried to keep his voice to match hers, all business.

"For the fun of it." Here a little laugh slipped in.

"Why diamonds?" Terry easily shifted into interrogation mode. She didn't seem to mind.

"I go for the best." And she gave Terry a long, meaningful look.

"Well it's wrong."

"Why? I'm not hurting anybody."

"Maybe not, but you _are_ wasting my time."

Catwoman laughed slowly. "Well please, go back to whatever you were doing that was more important than this interview. I will be just fine by myself. I am a big girl."

This time, Terry stepped closer to her. He leaned over her, trusting in the intimidation of his black physique and deep voice. "Then don't make me babysit you."

"Oh, T-" She gently placed her hands on his suited stomach. Terry was taken off guard at the touch. "-Tsk, tsk," she said again. But her face was serious, and her dark, cat eyes were on his stomach.

Terry took a deep breath. They were close. He stepped back, quickly. "So are you going to leave?" He demanded, trying to ignore how she was making him feel.

She, too, looked as if nothing had happened between them. "Alright, I'll go home tonight, Batman," she lifted her shoulders in a casual shrug. "But trust me, we _will _meet again."


	7. Chapter 7

After meeting Catwoman on the roof of a jewelry store, he headed over to the batcave. On the way, he rang Max.

"Max, you're not going to believe it."

She yawned sleepily. "Terry, please, I'm trying to sleep here."

"It's a little early for bed," he chuckled, feeling his spirits lift just by hearing her voice.

"Oh, is it?" She asked, self-consciously. She was totally unaware at how easily she made his worries melt away.

"Yeah; you're not gonna' believe what just happened to me."

"Are you okay?" She worried out loud.

"Yeah, I'm great. Look, I met this lady dressed up like a cat. Can you do some research for me?"

"A _cat?_ That's creepy."

"Okay, try to stick with me here."

She snickered.

"I need you to work your magic on your computer. Obviously, we need to find out this loon's identity."

"Maybe it's Dana," Max teased.

"Oh, c'mon!" Terry laughed, gripping the wheel.

"Well, the first thing I think of when I think of Dana is cats."

"Why? Because she likes them so much?"

Max yawned again. "Well that, too, but she's just so…_catty._"

They both shared a laugh.

* * *

In the batcave, Bruce and Terry leaned over a computer, discussing Catwoman.

"When someone dresses up and does criminal work, there is usually a reason. Something they're out to prove, often," Bruce was explaining as he reminisced over his past as Batman.

Terry drummed his fingers on the desk in the dimly-lit room. "She said she does it for fun."

"Well, yes, that too. But there tends to be more reason than that."

"So what are we looking for? Cat fanatics?"

"Hmm, well those would be the obvious targets, but villains are just as often driven by their dislikes as by their likes. Hate is the most motivating force, for a villian."

* * *

Terry had no idea just how soon he would re-meet Catwoman. At school the next day, Terry didn't grovel to Dana as he usually did after dumping her on a date. When she walked up to him that morning, presumably to yell at him, he looked at her and said aggressively, "Look, Dana, you don't even have a _clue _what I'm going through, so just get off my back, okay?"

There were just too many women in his life, and he spent the day trying to think of how he was going to break up with his least favorite one. He hung out with Max and Chelsea and laughed to his heart's content, though he didn't tell either of them what was on his mind. When Max teased him privately about Catwoman, he just laughed cheerfully.

Dana caught him on his way out of school. He was walking with Max to his car.

"Look, Dana, I just can't talk right now. I've got to take Max to work."

Max kept walking to the car. Dana's eyes followed her for a brief moment, then turned to Terry. "I know, Ter. I'm not gonna' yell at you. I – I decided something. I want to be with you, no matter what, I'm not going to yell at you anymore."

Terry stared at her with his mouth wide open. This was new.

"I know that your work is important. And maybe someday you'll tell me why. But I'm just going to respect it from now on," she said with a smile, placing her small hands on his arm.

"Wow, thanks, Dana."

They shared a quick hug and Terry followed Max.

When he left, Blade came and stood by Dana. "I'm embarrassed for you, girl."

Dana looked at her friend, and, not really listening for an answer, asked why.

"You are just gonna' let this guy treat you however he wants, huh?"

"I love him," she whispered back.

"He's not in love with you, Dana."

* * *

In the car, Max playfully asked Terry what his girlfriend had said.

"Uh, she didn't do her usual beat-me-up routine."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she was all…_nice._"

"Oh, Terry. She just knew you weren't gonna' send her flowers and be a softie this time. She's just playing games with you."

Terry sighed. "She shouldn't have to be with me."

"Shouldn't _have _to? Terry, you're amazing." Max shifted uncomfortably in her seat after the words escaped her lips. She hurried on. "She just doesn't appreciate what she's got!"

"Well sure, Max, _you _understand, because you know who I am! She doesn't even know! Can you imagine what it's like from her perspective?"

"So why hasn't she broken up with you?"

Terry gave her an annoyed look. "You may be my best friend, but you don't really know anything about our relationship, okay?"

Max just laughed. "Okay, Terry."

"To work?" He asked after a moment, flustered by her refusal to argue.

"Nope. I quit."

"What? Why?" Terry stared at her in amazement.

"It was a lame job."

* * *

Catwoman _did _go home the previous night after meeting Terry, but she made good on her threat the very next day. Terry was in the middle of busting up a drug deal when he got the call from Bruce.

"Catlady gave us a legit warning for 9th Street, she's just doing it _now_. The police are on their way. They won't get there in time." Terry heard in his ear.

"Uh, a little busy," he replied in a sarcastic sing-song voice as he slugged the drug dealer. As he went down, Terry kicked the gun from his hand.

"Hurry."

The unarmed buyer jumped on Terry's back and wrapped his arms around his neck, trying unsuccessfully to strangle him. Though he caused no harm, he was quite difficult to shake. Terry slammed him into the wall of the alleyway a couple times before he weakened his grip. When he slid down, Terry yelled "Now get outta' here!" and turned to run.

A few steps later and a gun sounded, a bullet wizzing over his shoulder. "Slag!" He swore and swirled to face the young man who had picked up the dealer's fallen weapon. "Killing someone is a far worse crime than buying illegal substances," he growled, staring calmly at the man.

"I just don't want you stopping me from doing what I want to do." The man yelled, his voice shaky.

"So you would kill me?"

No reply.

Terry stepped towards him. "Despite the countless lives I save, every night?"

Still no reply. The gun was quivering in his hand.

"You would kill selfishly just to have your way?" Another step.

"You have no right to encroach on other people's freedoms. My choice."

Terry growled with rage. What was _with _these people? He flung the batarang, knocking the gun from the man's weak hold.

The man emitted a fairly girly scream and began running the other way.

Terry took off toward 9th Street, but he was too late. The Catwoman had gotten away with it tonight. Not again.


	8. Chapter 8

Catwoman stood alone in her bathroom at home, gingerly tending her bruises and the one bleeding gash on her face from a police man's uppercut. It was pretty scary, having successfully stolen from one of Gotham's most prestigious, and most well-protected jewelry stores. She hadn't tried to take much, but she certainly had tangled with the police. She was really pulling the authorities down on her head, now. And it had been close. Far too close. She had just been trying to get Batman's attention. Finished with bandaging her wound, she pulled off the glossy black wig and let it dangle from her hand as she walked over to her dirty clothes and tossed it in with disgust. Blood on it again. Man, would she love to see blood _on the real thing_. She quickly resumed research on her laptop as she raked her fingers through her matted, pink hair.

A screen from Terry had been there for ten minutes. She quickly replied. "Hey, Ter, sorry, was napping."

He responded back. He spoke and when a button was pressed on his suit, it translated it into typing for him. When another button was pressed, her typing was lightly transposed over his vision. "Wow, quitting that job has made a real slob out of you. You're always asleep. What if I need you?"

Max laughed to herself. "Oh, Ter, you don't need me."

"Of course I do. And I need to see you right now. Turn your camera on."

"Oh, no, Terry! My hair is a mess!"

"Oh please. Put it on."

"Aren't you supposed to be _working?_" Max grumbled, clicking it on.

Terry started laughing. "Woah, you _were _napping! Talk about bedhead."

Max snarled. "What are you doing?"

"I'm in the mobile."

"Okay. Turn your camera on."

He did so, and an image of Terry, suited and in the batmobile, surfaced in a box on her monitor. He smiled at her, glancing occasionally at the camera. "Hey, gorgeous."

"Hey, you have a girlfriend."

He shrugged. "Yeah, not much longer."

"What? Why?" This was usual language that simply meant that Dana was mad at him.

"Eh, I don't know," he muttered, his eyes avoiding the camera.

"I thought she was all happy with you now," Max exclaimed, her heart hammering. The thought of Terry no longer being with Dana, however unlikely, gave her a joy high.

"Well, she is, but…I guess that helped me figure out that's not what I want, after all." He pretended to be deeply engrossed in flying.

"Wow, Ter, I'm proud of you. So…are you, um, breaking up with her then?" The words rushed out; she said them breathlessly. Was her plan working already? She had only met him as Catwoman once…

He took a deep breath and looked at Max. "Yeah. Probably should do it as soon as possible, right? Get it over with?"

"Wow. The great batman is finally taking charge of his own personal life. I'm impressed," Max smirked, pushing a hand through her hair, helping it get a little more messy.

Terry glanced up at the camera, back out the windshield, and then again at the camera. "Yeah, it's all thanks to you. You've always been so supportive. Thanks…--wait, Max, what happened to your face!?"

Max reached up quickly and touched the bandage near her eye. "Oh, this? Um, I fell on a knife."

"You did WHAT?" Terry's eyes bugged out at her, and if the batmobile couldn't practically fly itself, he would have crashed.

"Okay, alright, shutup. I know I'm stupid."

"Max! You need to get to the hospital right now! I'm coming over to your apartment!"

"No, Terry, you're not. I'm fine. I handled it myself."

"Did you disinfect it?"

"Terry, you idiot, I have bandaged so many of your wounds by now it is _insulting_ that you are asking me these questions."

"Okay, geeze," Terry conceded, smiling to himself. "Oop, trouble down below. Gotta' go."

"Ter, put your cam on vision."

"Alrighty. Keep talkin' to me."

Max obediently clicked her microphone on so she could continue talking as he fought. He switched the view to the external camera on the mask and her view changed to his vantage point. Knowing now that he could no longer see her, she got up and did a quick dance of happiness. "So how's your night going?" She asked conversationally, when she was done.

"Oh, I missed Catwoman again. She robbed the jewelry store on 9th street, apparently. _Got away with it, Max_, can you believe it?"

Max's heart skipped in fear when he said "got away it, Max," but forced herself to calm down. "Wow, sounds like a bad girl," was all she said aloud.

"Cut that out," he returned, sounding annoyed, though really he loved it when she teased him like that.

"Well, it just sounds like maybe she's why you're getting fed up with women."

"Not women, Max. _Dana._"

"Okay, okay." Max leaned back in bed and watched Terry fighting. "So how are you gonna' do it?"

Terry took several minutes to answer. "Do what, sorry?"

"Break it off with Dana."

"Oh, I don't know, actually. How about 'Dana, I'm breaking up with you?'"

"Works for me," Max replied casually, and began drifting to sleep, for real this time. She felt overwhelmingly exhausted, happy, fulfilled, and close to her best friend.


	9. Chapter 9

Terry sighed. "Yeah…I did it, finally."

"For good this time?" She prodded, unable to keep from teasing.

"Definitely!" He scoffed.

"Sweet." Max stood up from under the tree she sat under.

"Yeah." Terry watched her as she put her earbuds in her pocket and came to stand next to him.

"How are you?"

"I'm okay. She took it…okay."

"Okay?" Max couldn't care less how _Dana _was doing. She was out of the picture now.

"Cried and stuff…man, I hated it."

"Well, you did the right thing," Max said seriously. It was hard to remind herself to be the old Max around Terry. She didn't succeed all the time. She had to be patient and introduce herself slowly.

"Yeah, I guess so, I just didn't want to hurt her."

"Oh, Ter, you're so sweet." She ruffled his long black locks, and he quickly grumbled and shook her affect on them out. A little more moody than usual.

"Man, you're a crank," Max noted.

"Yeah, I just…broke up with my girlfriend of three years."

"Yep. You're only ever grumpy because of her or because you're having problems at work," Max volunteered, forgivingly.

"Both, actually," Terry muttered as they moved back inside the school building. Lunch would be over soon, so they were heading to their lockers.

"What's goin' on at work?" She asked, smiling to herself.

"Catwoman," he huffed, smacking the wall once as he walked.

She just laughed gaily.

"I can't get her out of my head –"

When Max gave him a pointed look and another laugh, he stammered.

"That's not what I meant! C'mon! I just broke up with my girlfriend. Geeze."

_"Ex-girlfriend," _Max noted to herself, smirking.

"I mean, the stuff she says to me, I can't get it out of my head."

"Sounds like she knows how to get under your skin," Max suggested, pulling open her locker door and hiding her head behind it.

"Yep."

"So, did _you_ eat anything?" Max changed the subject.

"Nope."

"Me either."

"Aw, Max, you're a real pal. Too worried about me to eat?"

"You could say that."

Maybe they didn't understand each other perfectly, but they never had. Terry had just only _thought _they had.

* * *

"Well hello there," Catwoman purred into the darkness. She had just dropped into the jewelry store, but Batman had gotten there first.

"Good evening," Terry frowned back, coming out from the corner and into the area in the middle of the store where the dark was slightly less thick.

"How did you know I would be here?" She asked, without showing much apparent interest in the answer as she approached a display case.

"Oh, I think I'm starting to catch on to you."

Catwoman smirked, picking the lock. Just as she got it open, Terry's hand came down on her arms. She looked at him.

"You didn't really think I would let you, did I? You're not _that _cute."

She laughed, delighted that he was speaking her language. "So what now?"

"You go home," Batman said, in his most commanding tone.

"Without _you_?" She asked, incredulously. With that, she threw a punch in his unsuspecting face and landed it well. Turning away from him, she grabbed the huge diamond necklace from the display case and turned to go.

Something hard hit her in her back and she fell down, on her face. Terry's boot then came down on her wrist and he bent to pry the necklace from her fingers. Max twisted and placed a sharp, hard karate kick on the side of his head once he had bent low enough. He gave a grunt of pain and staggered slightly, just long enough for Max to spring up and start running. She had gotten to the roof before a cable whipped out and wrapped around her bicep, jerking her roughly back. Catwoman gave a cry and turned to meet Batman, kicking rapidly. He blocked twice and then grabbed her ankle and yanked her off balance. As she fell, her other foot reached out, hooking him behind the knee. He fell on top of her. Catwoman exhaled sharply as his weight fell and tried to roll out from under him. He attempted to pin her.

"So…" Max panted. "How's your…romantic life going?" She quizzed conversationally as she fought back.

By then she had already tucked the necklace away in her compartment, but he couldn't free his hands from hers to get it. "My _what?_"

"Oh, c'mon, you know what I mean. The brave vigilante leads a lonely life."

"That's none of your business," Terry muttered sulkily as he finally succeeded in trapping one of her hands under his knee.

"Wow. And you're _Batman. _Don't you realize that you could get any woman you _wanted_?"

"Who, like _you?" _He scoffed. "Besides, I don't believe in taking advantage of my position like that."

"What, like now?" She laughed back, looping her free arm around his neck and bringing his face down close to hers.

Growling in annoyance, Terry pulled her arm off of him and twisted it just a bit until she gave a little cry of pain.

"Batman," she gasped, "I just don't _get_ you."

"Oh yeah?" He asked, reaching for the compartment at her waist.

But he had given her too much room for her legs and she kneed him in his abdomen. "Yeah. You spend your days thwarting harmless criminals and you enjoy no part of your life."

"Know me that well, huh?" He asked and he rolled off, getting sick of the wrestling match he couldn't win. They both stood, keeping their eyes on each other.

"I know the look of a man who never does what he wants when I see him," she responded, condescendingly.

Terry lunged at her but she ducked him. He hadn't realized he was that close to the edge. In a moment, he was falling. He threw his grappling hook and it latched. Catwoman looked over the edge of the building at him. Was she going to unhook it? By the time he had climbed back to the top, cursing all the way, she was gone.

* * *

It was late at night and Max had just showered. The bruises hadn't shown up yet, but man, could she feel them. Terry was a hard fighter. Dressed in a tank and sleeping shorts, she gazed at her jewelry collection as she rubbed her wet head with a towel.

"Max!?" A voice bellowed from inside her apartment. Terry. She really had to change that lock now that she had a life of her own.

"Y-Yep! Give me a sec!" She quickly locked up the safety box and closed the door to her walk-in closet. She walked out into the living room. Batman stood in her living room, his mask off. He threw it onto the couch and strode towards her.

"Oh hey, Ter-"

He mashed his mouth against hers, swallowing her in his arms, gathering her up against his slick, black suit. The towel fell from her shoulders and she placed her hands on the back of his head, pulling him against her. After kissing fiercely for several moments, Terry slightly loosened his grip and pulled back to look at her.

"Terry, what…"

"Max, I love you and I have loved you forever and I don't know what took me so long –" Here he cut himself off by kissing her again. Picking her up in his arms, he carried her swiftly to the couch and sat with her on his lap. Desperately, he pushed his hands over her short pink hair, looking at her as if he could never look enough. "Why, why, _why_ did I wait so long…"

This time it was Max who interrupted. "Oh, shutup," she murmured and kissed him fiercely.


	10. Chapter 10

OhGodOfWriting says: Thanks everyone so much for reading and reviewing. It is making this whole process very rewarding. I am having a blast writing. I hope you are enjoying reading it.

It's almos over, coming down the home stretch.

Loving writing this strange stretch of Terry/Max... Mwahaha.

* * *

They walked hand-in-hand into school together the next day. Max's mind was reeling from how fast she had been catapulted into this. Her plan had worked so quickly, and now, she didn't know what to do. She could stop being Catwoman, but she loved it. She hadn't ever felt so alive, even _before _she landed the relationship with the man of her dreams. She didn't want to give up herself again. If she did that, she would be no different than Dana, no different even than the old Max who used to stand in Terry's shadow, waiting patiently, dying slowly. It wasn't enough to be with him, she realized. He did complete her, but only after she had taken steps toward completing herself.

Terry's thoughts were very unlike Max's. He held his head high, knowing that every guy that saw them together would envy him. All the girls would freak out. The whole school would be in an uproar that Max and Terry had finally gotten together. He also briefly worried that Dana would be hurt. He didn't want to do that, but hadn't he already spent long enough trying to keep her from getting hurt, and failing? It was time to live his own life. And now, it was the life he always wanted. The woman he always wanted. "Why did it take me so long?" He only let his mind dwell on the lost time for a moment before he tightened his grip on Max's hand and brought it to his lips.

Max turned and grinned at him. They slowly, reluctantly let go when they reached Max's locker and Terry crossed the hall to his. Suddenly, Chelsea was upon her.

"Oh my God, Max! You're with Terry!?"

Max smiled to herself, trying not to tell Chelsea how much like Blade she sounded just then. "Yep," was her casual reply.

Chelsea's mouth hung open and she was starting to get furious that Max wouldn't dish. "How did it happen!?"

"Um, well, he came over last night and, um…kissed me, actually," Max looked intently inside of her locker.

"WHAT!?" Chelsea fairly shrieked. Terry glanced over and Max, feeling his eyes, quickly met his. She looked back to Chelsea, encouraged by Terry's supportive grin.

"Yeah. We're together. Just like that," for a moment, Max needed encouragement from her best friend. "Do you think it's too soon?" She asked, quickly.

"Too soon!? Too soon for what?"

"Yah know, because he just…um…broke up with Dana," Max whispered, all teenage girl once more.

"NO!" Chelsea bellowed. "We all know he was in love with you the whole time, and Dana, is like, excuse my French, a total bitch."

"I heard that," Blade snarled from behind someone a couple lockers down.

Max froze.

"I'll deal with her, Max. You just enjoy your day…and, congratulations," Chelsea squeezed her arm and then stalked off to go take a verbal beating from Blade.

Max smiled hugely. This was too good to be true. With Terry, and without any shouting from Blade or Dana… She would only have to endure hateful glares! No words! She could have danced right then. Instead, she took her books over to Terry and stood close to him, a little shyly, after all.

Terry grinned and put his arm around her shoulders. "Can I walk you to class?"

"Sure," Max returned sweetly. Yes, this was everything she had ever wanted.

Dana, apparently having just gotten the news from Blade, stood at her locker with her eyes huge, staring at them in horror and anger.

It was still everything she had ever wanted.

* * *

"I want you to know that Dana and I won't stand for this," Blade continued her tirade to Chelsea at lunch. The honeymooners were at a different table, fielding questions from friends, random students, and even the occasional nosey teacher. They wore slap-happy grins on their faces and were very polite.

Chelsea glowered at Blade's pale, tight-lipped face. She was absolutely sick of this. "Well how about you and Dana just get in a relationship together, since neither one of you is independent."

Blade looked like she might hit Chelsea for a moment, but when Chelsea seemed very up to the prospect of a fistfight, Blade just turned up her nose and stomped away.

When she got to Dana, and relayed what happened, Dana just shrugged. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her face expressionless. But at least she was eating.

"What, aren't you going to do anything?" Blade demanded.

Dana shook her head and continued to shovel rice pudding into her mouth.

"Why not!?"

Dana swallowed and finally looked at Blade. "Let's just face it, okay? I've been dumped."

"No! You have NOT been dumped! You can get him back!"

"Do you see how _happy _they are, Blade?" Dana asked softly, her eyes beginning to fill again and chin quivering.

Blade looked at her friend in amazement. "So that's it, then?"

"Yep, that's it…we just…move on." She looked down at her tray, eyes swimming. It hurt to know that she wasn't what he had wanted. But for the first time in three years, she felt a glimmer of hope for her own happiness.

* * *

"Thanks for shielding us from the negative press today, Chelse. I really owe you one," Max was telling Chelsea after school.

"How did she take it?" Terry asked as he held Max's hand, fingers interlaced.

Chelsea laughed. "I think Blade took it worse than Dana did."

Even sensitive Terry had to chuckle. "Well, thanks a lot."

"Yeah, that'll be 500," Chelsea teased.

"Okay," Terry said, and released Max's hand to reach into his pocket for his wallet.

Max and Chelsea stared at him with wide eyes.

"500 cred, right here," he said, handing it to her.

She slowly took it.

"Go do some shopping," Max suggested.

"AH, I LOVE YOU GUYS!" Chelsea cried and lunged onto Max with a hug. She then hurried off.

Max turned towards Terry, laughing slightly awkwardly. "So you're gen—"

But Terry had reached for her, placing a hand on either side of her head and pulling her into a kiss, nearly lifting her off of her toes.

Though taken off guard, Max obligingly folded her arms around Terry's neck and did likewise. _"Our friendship has taken such an interesting turn," _Max thought, objectively, as she enjoyed their kiss.

Once he released her, Max grinned at him and snapped wryly, "Are you gonna' make a habit of interrupting me like that?"

"Oh, sorry, I didn't think –" Terry began, a little self-conscious.

Max laid her fingertips over Terry's lips. "Tsk, tsk. I'm only playing."

After a very new-couple-kissy goodbye, Terry went to work, leaving Max, supposedly to stay, at her apartment. Max told him not to bother IMing her on patrol, as she thought she'd catch up with Chelsea for shopping. It wasn't a total lie. She _did_ do a little shopping.


	11. Chapter 11

Author's note: Again, thanks for the faithful reading and reviews. It delights me to know you guys are enjoying this.

Beware, this is a fast moving story. I am not putzing around with anything...it was supposed to be much shorter, but the story wrote itself. What could I do? Shrug Just prepare yourself for huge jumps and incredible speed. BUCKLE IN!!

* * *

"Oh my God, Max, I got thee _cutest_ shoes yesterday that I had always drooled over but could never afford…and I had so much left over," Chelsea was gushing the next day during computer class.

Max felt a little pang of regret that she hadn't cashed in any of her jewels yet. She would have to do that soon. That might prove a little tricky. "That's great, Chelse, what else did you get?" She asked distractedly as she began to do some research on the computer.

"Hey, didn't you go shopping with her?" Terry asked, looking puzzled.

"Oh, yeah, I went, but couldn't find her," Max stammered, angry at herself for her amateur blunder.

"Oh okay," Terry responded, satisfied. His hand was on Max's leg under the table.

"Why didn't you call me, girl?" Chelsea asked, looking horrified that she had missed out on shopping with Max.

But she had already anticipated this question. "Yeah, I know, I left my phone at home," she replied as though annoyed at herself.

* * *

Over the next few days, Max felt herself beginning to change. She softened. She became kinder. More loving to everyone, even Dana. She went up to Dana one day at school and they had a brief conversation. Dana was civil, but uninterested. The next day, though, Dana said hi to Max. Perhaps they might actually become real friends after awhile. Now that all of Dana's posturing was over, Max saw that she might really come to like her. That wasn't the only change. Max found it harder to hit Terry when they fought as Batman and Catwoman. But the sexual tension of it all was so enjoyable that she didn't let herself regret much. She knew that Terry felt it, too, but he never fell for her bait. She couldn't believe that Dana had ever worried that Terry was an unfaithful guy. She felt so lucky to be with him. Max didn't spend much time worrying that Terry would figure out her secret identity, though it became more and more likely over time. Most of her didn't care. It didn't seem like it mattered that much, or would change anything. Max was living in a bubble of love for Terry that may have continued unaltered for many years if not for the huge wall between them that Max was too blind to see.

* * *

The fight with Batman was one she was definitely going to lose today. She wasn't at the top of her game, and he clearly was at his. It seemed as though some improvements had been made to Terry's suit, making him faster, which ruined Max's only asset. Her beguiling ways seemed to have less and less effect, too, as he got used to her distraction techniques. _"I'll have to look into stealing some of Bruce's technology," _Max thought, as she prepared to split from inside the store.

Oh no. Her exit was closed. How had he done that? Terry caught up with her and she turned to fight him, not knowing how to get out. For the first time, Max began to panic. She was in hand-to-hand combat with her man, no longer his most trusted friend, but now his enemy. He had her trapped, and it was only a matter of time before the police came. He caught her arm as she attempted to punch and twisted it behind her. He had her wrists knotted in a cable before she could headbutt him. The alarm went off. She kicked out at him, savagely, but he didn't seem to feel the kicks.

"Gotcha' now, Catwoman," Terry smirked, holding her pinned to the ground in the dark.

Max stopped struggling. She knew there was no way. "T—Batman, please. Let me go."

"I can't do that," Terry responded firmly.

"You don't understand," Max said, nearing tears.

"Yes, I do. You are a criminal, and now you are going to taste justice."

The alarm continued to blare and Max turned her head away, crying. It wasn't so much that she was about to be caught. It was that Terry, her sweet, loving, best friend was now her merciless captor, her impartial judge. Terry dragged her to the wall, presumably to tie her to something and then continue on with work.

"Wait, wait, wait," Max cried. Max had never felt more distant from him. Not all those times when he was with Dana…now, they were separated by something far greater. She couldn't even feel his love for her, because he didn't know it was her. If he knew…

"What?" Batman snapped. Terry was surprised and alarmed at the complete lack of cool Catwoman suddenly had. He was disappointed in her, and disappointed that it had to be this way, and disappointed that it was he that had reduced her to this.

"Terry…" Max sobbed, now sitting upright against a wall. Terry was crouching next to her and he froze, staring fiercely into her face.

"What did you say?" His gripped her shoulders tightly. Normally, he would have blown off the correct guess, not giving away that it meant anything to him. But now, something had twisted in his stomach… A guess of his own.

"T-Terry," Max continued, reached towards him with her bound hands. Her fingers found his face. Terry didn't push her away.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" He nearly shouted.

Max cringed, trying to sink into the wall, anywhere to get away from his anger.

"Ter, Ter, it's me…"

"No. I don't believe you," he said, his voice ragged.

"Here, take off my mask…"

"No, I won't," he rapidly shook his head.

Max reached up, and with difficulty, began peeling back the mask, ungracefully. Terry just crouched there, his eyes wide, his mouth open. He had never felt more afraid…more devastated. Max's wig fell to the floor. She tugged the mask the rest of the way off.

"Max…"

"Terry, baby…"

"No, no, no, no," Terry stood and backed up.

Max struggled to stand without the use of her hands, and barely the use of any of her brain. "Terry, it's _me_," she explained, feeling as though he didn't understand.

Batman's face darkened, hardened. He turned to stone before her very eyes. His heart was hidden away behind layers of unscaleable walls.

She saw it. This time it was her turn. "Terry, no…"

He pulled out a batarang and gripped her hands harshly. He cut her bonds and turned to go.

"Terry!"

He looked over his shoulder at her. His eyes were cold, his voice unfeeling. He only had one thing to say before he left her forever. "I am Batman."


	12. Chapter 12

After Batman had left, Catwoman had been able to battle the police who came rushing in moments later. She escaped, badly wounded. Though she lay there in her apartment bleeding and hoping Terry would come and save her, he never did. Max missed two weeks of school. Terry made no attempt to talk to her, and wouldn't answer her calls. He blocked her from having access him in the batmobile or on his suit. She told Chelsea that she was sick and heartbroken, and wouldn't let her friend come over until the second week. When Chelsea confronted Terry, all he said was "You don't know who she is."

Max finally went back to school, if only to see Terry. When he saw her, he glared and walked away, after only the slightest flicker of recognition showed in his eyes. She kept going to school, hoping things would change, but they didn't. Max did a jewelry theft here and there, and it was her only release throughout the whole thing. She hoped to meet Batman, but he never came. The police did show up earlier than usual, though. Batman must have been tipping them off. But she hadn't gotten arrested on the street yet, so apparently he hadn't given them her identity.

Terry began to heal. He didn't get back together with Dana, and she didn't try to get him to, either. In fact, she seemed to be moving on surprisingly quickly, and was seeing some other guy. Even heartbroken Terry began to smile again, though he wouldn't talk to Max, and barely talked to Chelsea.

Max threw herself even harder into Catwoman work. She even broke into the Batcave and made off with a backup suit that she could research to improve her own. She didn't care if she was caught, she had no reservations now. The only thing to live for was Catwoman. She kept going to school only to look at Terry, though he wouldn't look back.

Terry broke into her apartment when she was out catting and stole the suit back. Relations with Bruce had been pretty rocky over this whole thing. But no matter how much the old man demanded to know what was going on, Terry had given him no information. One thing was for certain, Catwoman had definitely changed Terry McGinnis.

* * *

"Go on! Go on, go on, leave me breathless!" Terry swung his head and patted the steering wheel in time with the very old Shania Twain hit he was loudly singing. Though the radio blared, it did little to drown out the hideously off-key and shamefully girly display. Max had passed him a note that day that had said "I will love you forever." Though he had scoffed and discarded it, the note was apparently getting to him more than he had intended to let it.

"Tempt me, tease me, ohhh I long for your kiss!" His black hair swished from side to side and the minivan bounced along down the road to Wayne Enterprises. As he continued his journey, oblivious to the hold Max still had on his heart, gunfire opened on the van. His good mood vanished.

Terry swore and ducked, swerving into the other lane carelessly. Still hunched over, and now speeding for dear life, he glanced over, trying to see where the attack was coming from. A _helicopter? _And he hadn't _heard _it? Terry felt embarrassment even as he scrambled for his life. He smacked off the radio and then took the chase off the road, veering the van into the woods. How had these crazies found out who the Batman was? He was in a civilian car!

But he had been driving too fast and the woods were not a good idea. Unable to steer fast enough, he crashed into a tree. The airbag popped out and struck him in the face. He blacked out.

Terry began waking up.

"Who would have thought it would be so easy to capture Batman?" Laughed a big, burly voice. Terry, from where he lay on the floor, opened his eyes and looked for the voice. It was a fat, be-ringed, cigar smoking man surrounded by less silly looking men. This was the boss.

"Yeah, we had no trouble," Laughed another. "Not even injured."

"I guess he acts like the pathetic teenager he is when he's not wearing his little suit," The boss teased, looking over at Terry. Seeing him awake, he walked over and bent down.

Terry struggled to sit upright, but someone came over and put their foot on his shoulder. "How did you know who I am?" The boss took the thick cigar from his mouth and patted Terry's head. "Well, when you drive the same ridiculous vehicle to your hideout ever night, you're not that hard to track. It's just a matter of watching."

"Hours," another man complained, apparently one of the men who had to spy on Terry.

"What do you want from me?" Terry snarled. He couldn't let them see how afraid he was without his suit, or communication from Bruce.

"We want you to stop being Batman, little boy."

Terry rolled his eyes. He knew his own lines were lame, but the predictability of these bad guys was simply nauseating.

"Do you have an attitude with me?" The boss demanded, his smile vanishing.

"Well it's just that you're not really persuading me," Terry replied sarcastically, as he tried to lift his cheek off the cold cement floor.

"We have methods for that," The boss said, standing and whipping off his jacket. He rolled up the sleeves up his satin button-down and took a metal bat from a nearby man.

"You're going to try to stop Batman, the greatest hero this world has ever seen, with a _bat_?" Came a sarcastic female voice.

Terry's heart beat faster and he twisted around his back to see her entering through the door of the small warehouse. She dangled the door knob in her hand.

"Please just tell me one thing before I kick your asses… Why bother locking a door when the handle can be so easily removed? You boys are amateurs."

The boss whirled to glare at the guy responsible for locking up. "What, Boss? You just said to 'lock up,' that was it!"

He turned quickly to look at Catwoman. "So the budding jewelry thief comes to save her enemy."

She shrugged. "I have an interest in keeping him alive."

"We weren't gonna' kill him, just beat him up a bit and ransom him," confided a not-bright one. Again, the boss glared.

"With only four of you, I am really surprised with how many idiots are here," Max commented. "Besides, I'm the only one allowed to beat him up."

"Well maybe some of the idiots are _you two_," jabbed another.

"Just grab some weapons, you idiots!!" The boss roared. Then, "I just wanna' know, Batman, why your _girl_friend's here to save you."

Terry laughed and shrugged. "You haven't seen her fight yet."

With that, Catwoman flew into action. She punched one guy while grasping the doorknob. As he fell, the boss caught her across her back with the bat. She yelled and dropped to the ground, the knob falling from her hand. She rolled out of the way before she took another hit from the boss. On her back on the ground, she kicked him in the groin, and the bat rattled to the floor. She raised herself to her feet. The other men were already running. Pulling the small knife from her waistband, she knelt and cut Terry's bonds. Seeing Terry freed was the final straw for the boss. Now legitimately scared, he went the way of his undevoted henchmen.

"Thanks," Terry said, turning to her.

Max nodded and handed Terry her cell phone. "I've got Bruce."

"How? I locked you out."

"Ter, I'm a computer hacker."

"Well you used to be just a _nerd_," Terry commented.

"What's the diff?" Max teased herself.

"One's harmless." But his eyes were sparkling.

Author's Note: ONE CHAPTER LEFT!!


	13. Chapter 13

Five Years Later

--

Catwoman dropped down onto the roof of the Latin club. She was a bit late, she knew, but she had a bit of a jam at tonight's heist. No problems. She rarely got into trouble anymore. She was too good for that. Her suit was upgraded, her skill increased. Now, even when she and Batman fought, she occasionally won. Usually they didn't fight, though. Rather than get physical, they played mental games. If Batman showed up at her job and caught her (sometimes she could still get away even if he was there) they usually flirted and had a game of intellectual wit before she left for the night. It was a grown-up, elite game of hide-and seek. Max took off her mask and stuffed it into the large pocket of her new wide-legged black trousers. "God bless these for coming back in style," she thought. Those pockets could hold a lot.

She gracefully leapt down onto the garbage bin, hardly making any noise, and pounced the rest of the way to the alleyway floor. Giving one last straightening to her outfit, she casually strode into the club as a civilian. They only frisked the guys. What would he do with _his_ stuff? Max chuckled to herself as she strolled through the club. She knew she walked like a cat. She didn't try to hide it. People were less suspicious than you might think. Male heads turned as she passed. They wouldn't dare when her man got there.

"Where the hell is he?" Max whispered to herself. She much preferred to be the stylishly late one. Finding a seat near the back of the club, she watched the dancers. The club was dim, the floor was lighted with a surreal, slanted, blinking light. The dancers moved gracefully, sassily, and sensually…her favorite. It had taken _him _a couple years of classes to get it down. But it was well worth the effort to be able to dance this sexily with her _husband._

He walked in, then. Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt (_"wow, he never gets the memo,"_ Max smiled ruefully to herself) he looked about the same as ever. Neither of them had changed their look much. He was more manly looking now, though, even with the same long teenage style haircut. Max smiled and crossed her legs. Even with all the swaying people, he spotted her quickly. A huge grin spread across his playful face.

"Ahhh Chewie, Chewie," The Spanish music shouted and then rolled back into the relaxing, wave-like rhythm. Terry made his way over to Max, pushing through the crowd.

"Ahh, on time tonight, Babe?" Batman smirked when he reached his wife, and stood somewhat awkwardly before her with his hands in his pockets. He knew that, as usual, he was in the palm of her hand.

"Yeah, unlike _you_." Came her provoking response. She looked at her husband out of the edge of her dark eyes, the faintest smile hiding in her glossy lips.

"Hey, I was busy tonight, lotsa' crime on the streets," Terry whined. Man, she wouldn't give him anything for free.

Max shrugged and turned slightly away from him, glancing at him across her shoulder. "I figured, since you didn't show up to prevent _mine_."

Terry's eyes widened. "You! Tonight!?"

Max let her head fall back and laughed easily, exposing her long neck.

"Where is it, Max?" He reached toward her pockets.

She turned quickly towards him and caught his hands at either side of her hips. "Tsk, tsk. I'm not in costume anymore."

"Just because you're not wearing your mask doesn't mean you're not in costume. This is your suit. One of them, and I know you've got something in those pockets." Terry said menacingly.

"Darling? On our anniversary? Not very romantic," she scolded, unafraid.

"Thieving on our anniversary? Undermining me at every turn? Not very romantic," he smirked, thrilled with his brilliance. She was finally rubbing off on him a bit.

She pushed him away and stood to walk away. The music changed into an Argentine tango with strong notes followed by descending violin scales.

"Dance with me," Terry commanded, his hand grasping hers tightly. Her wedding ring…a sapphire, the only colored jewel she owned, pressed into Terry's palm.

"Okay, Baby. But I'm pretty sure that's a game you won't win," she agreed, looking far too confident.

"We'll see," Terry growled, leading her into the middle of the floor. Holding her body close to his, he snapped it to attention and pushed her around the floor. Obeying the rules of dance, her body moved and swung where he directed it. She was like liquid under his hands. Just as compliant, just as untamable. This is what he loved about dancing.

Max knew that even obeying his every whim, she was still in charge. And that was only one of many things she loved about it. After a promenade, he slowly dropped her into a low dip. She complied, her cropped pink hair brushing the floor. Her delicate wrists were crossed and her fingers hooked in his. He pulled her back up, close. She draped both arms over his neck and looked to the side, her cheek parallel to his shoulder. Her high heeled feet executed the steps. His hands were on her hips and now he reached down, his fingers making it an inch into her deep trouser pocket. She sharply brought her knee up, knocking his hand away. How had she made that look like a dance move, and not a fight move? Terry gave her a spin and then tucked her in for a close dip, his one hand trailing from her throat down her neck. She grinned.

"Happy anniversary, M'love," she murmured into his ear as her hips moved with his, the music slipping back into salsa.

Terry's transition was as smooth as hers. "Not so easy. You've still got stolen diamonds on your person, and I'm always Batman."

"Well and you're always in love with me, and you did promise yourself to me, for _richer or poorer_." Her eyelashes brushed his cheek.

Terry was getting distracted. "Mmmmhmmm."

She pulled back and cast a look into his face. That all-too-familiar look of victory.

Terry had given it up for the night. He was officially off-duty. Trying to clear his head, he let her do a couple of fast turns.

"So where did you stash _your _suit?"

"Well my dear, you forget that my alter ego has a very stylish car."

The song became a fast merengue. They panted and talked only when their faces came close enough.

"You left it parked _outside?_"

"I would hardly call it parked. _Hovering._"

"Batman's car is hovering outside the club?"

"Well, above."

"Terry!"

"How about you tell me how to be Batman when you're actually on my side, okay?" Terry loved it. Because she was at odds with him, he could always pull that card when she criticized.

"I'm your wife. I care about you."

"Uh-huh, just not the things I care about."

"True. But we don't need mutual understanding in this relationship." Max walked around him, one hand trailing across his midsection, the other arm extended out gracefully. She walked on her toes, in perfect rhythm with the music.

"So you think love will be enough forever?" Terry grinned casually as she came back to front and wrapped one leg around his for a count.

"I'm banking on that."


	14. Playlist

Now with a playlist! Go to playlist . com /elizabethrosemiller to hear it. (Without spaces.)


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